This Week's SATURDAY SHORTS: Drama, Comedy, and Action!

Hello ladies and gentlemen, Muldoon here with this week's selection of shorts I think you should take a look at. I love film festivals. I love how you can plop down in a random spot after rushing across town to hit a showtime, and find yourself watching something unique - something you can't just turn to Netflix for (Though I LOVE Netflix, don't get me wrong). Hopefully that same enjoyment is somthing you folks find each week when you check in with your bud Muldoon, that bit of "I have no clue what I'm in for, but I trust this guy most of the time, so hopefully I see something interesting." The fact that filmmakers still continue to send me their projects blows me away. I've yet to go out and find anything off Youtube and pass it off... In other words, there's a lot more filmmakers in the AICN audience then I ever genuinely expected. Keep it up. Keep making cool shorts. Keep experimenting. And keep sending them my way! Now let's "plop down" and check out some shorts, eh? (If you're still in Austin and have something playing at SXSW - let me know.)

Bam! Let's kick this week off (like a shoe almost) and check out a dark comedy from Jamie Hooper! "Plastic Love is a dark and twisted tale of love, loss, obsession and fetishes. The story focuses on four main characters and explores their secret desires and fantasies, and how they affect their relationships, for better or worse." The world of fetishes... I just don't "get," though I've been told rubbing cheese on your lover's feet isn't usual... (jokes...) Hey, if you like what Jamie put together here, then head over to his blog or follow the guy on twitter: @FingercuffJAMIE.

So PLASTIC LOVE is a hard act to follow - good thing Paul Michael Garcia is up for the pass with his comedy-drama about a guy who can only fall for movie actress types. Check out the film's Facebook page if you've got a second - you've got to admire Paul's gumption with the flick.

Here we've got a slice of life, no - not the subgenre, but an actual bit of what goes down in Central Park, the folks, the scene, the stories. Benjamin Gross has done a handful of films all around 110 seconds long in a series he calls "Central Park Stories" (as you might've assumed). He's captured some pretty cool stories in the series, stories I think you might want to check out over on his YouTube channel.

THE FLYING LESSON

TRT: 16:25

Planes! From SATURDAY SHORTS pal Phil Hawkins, we've got a fun action/drama that features some pretty neat shots that you just don't see everything (aerials galore... actually shooting raw in the sky vs. completely green screen). Damn fine job, Phil! "After the recent death of her grandfather, Phoebe Sanderson (Jessica Blake) takes a flying lesson in the exact plane her grandfather flew in WWII, a recently restored Tiger Moth. With a sense of trepidation, she takes flight with a promise to keep. Only a chauvinistic flying instructor (Richard J. Fletcher) with a secret stands in her way..." Be sure to fly over to the film's website.

Thanks to Derek Milton & Robin Harper, this week's programming can go out with a definitive bang! This short is compact, full of beautiful ladies, and will remind you why you shouldn't get too worked up with rock, paper, scissors and games like it. Check out Derek's website if you feel like learning more about the guy.

That's it for now, folks! I'll catch you all next week with a handful of other fun/interesting shorts. But if you're in the mood for more short bits of fun, then click a link below and transport back in time to previous entries in the SATURDAY SHORTS universe:

If you have a short and think it belongs here or are on the fence about whether to send it in, please do send it in - I'd love to see what you've put together. I've already seen hundreds of fresh new filmmakers' shorts and like any good addict, I need more!

Shoot me an email at "Mike@aintitcool.com"

In the subject line include:

“SHORTS” + “Your film’s name” + “The film’s genre”

Then, in the body of the email, please include a synopsis of the film and any contact information you might think I need or would want published. The more info you send my way, the more info there is to put with your short.

Please don’t feel the need to submit multiple times.

Remember, the filmmakers might still be in the audience, so feel free to share your thoughts in Talkbacks below. (JUST DON'T BE AN ASSHOLE). I picked them, so you know I think highly of all of these, but how about you fine folks? How'd you like 'em?

BY THE WAY: If you've had a short featured here, that means that I personally am a fan of your work, so feel free to shoot me any kind of news on new projects/films/whatever. I can't say I'll be able to help or in what capacity, but I'm interested in your work and am always down to see more! (Keep making cool stuff, everyone!)